Smoke alarms

[spasmo]

I need to replace 4 of our wired smoke detectors in the house. We have 10 total wired smoke detectors. Can I just go out and buy 4 new ones regardless of brand name/make/model as long as it's wired or do I have to buy all new smoke detectors and replace them all at once?

I've been reading a little about them and it appears they should all use 3 wires: black, white, & red. Black accepts 120 volts AC, white is neutral, and red is the intercommunication wire.

There shouldn't need to be any rewiring really, should there?

The house was built in '02. These are the original smoke detectors.

Are there any specific ones that you recommend? I was just going to buy a 6 pack to have 2 spare ones. Or I guess 2 - 6 packs if they all have to match.

 

[HDSilvrStreak]

Take one down and check the plug on the back. Ours are fairly common and once I determined the plug type, just went to Home Depot or Menard's and found them there. Replacement takes all of 30 seconds once you determine which ones you need.

I guess it's possible that they are all the same, but I never really looked into it that far. Just determined our needs and went out. They were plentiful.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Shouldn't have to replace them all - though it would suck that it turned out to be so (perhaps some strange electrical communication between the hard-wires causes some kind of glitch where it causes "chirping" from the others...)

Most of the hard-wired ones you can buy will have adapters included to match the plug system used on your house should it not directly plug in/out.

-J-

 

[Brandon]

Replace only the ones you need. You may need to re-wire them if you switch brands.

We just bought a few of the Kidde dual detectors.
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Kidde-PI2010-Sensor-Battery-Backup/dp/B0039YOWY4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1366732460&sr=8-4&keywords=smoke+alarm]Kidde PI2010 Smoke Alarm Dual Sensor with Battery Backup, White - Amazon.com[/ame]

I was attempting to cook the other night and this thing went nuts very quickly on a lot less smoke then the old single detector could of done

Wiring is simple if you have to re-wire.

 

[Mr. Habib]

They will all work together regardless of brand. You may need to change plugs if you switch brands. It's no big deal if you do, just remember to kill the power first! You should have a circuit breaker just for the smoke detectors in you panel.

 

[Hoosier Cowboy]

Also check with your local Fire Dept. they usually have free ones they will gladly give out.

 

[spasmo]

I was out at lunch so I stopped by Lowes and picked a 6 pack of these up after reading the first few posts.



I didn't know what the plug looked like on the old ones and, of course, they aren't the same. I was hoping I could just pop the new ones in and be done with it. Since it'll require some extra work, I'll let Scutter see if he wants to keep these or look for other ones that may have the same connectors.

 

[Scutter01]

Shouldn't have to replace them all

They suck. I think the builder used the cheapest ones he could find. Periodically, one will start doing the "battery low" chirp, and it will never stop. Even if we pull the battery out completely. Seriously, it's like they're haunted or something. We have to put them in the garage where we can't hear them.

 

[Mr. Habib]

I was out at lunch so I stopped by Lowes and picked a 6 pack of these up after reading the first few posts.



I didn't know what the plug looked like on the old ones and, of course, they aren't the same. I was hoping I could just pop the new ones in and be done with it. Since it'll require some extra work, I'll let Scutter see if he wants to keep these or look for other ones that may have the same connectors.

It shouldn't take much more work. Kill the power. Remove the old unit. The connector should just be attached to the house wiring with three twist locks. Unscrew them and remove the old plug. Twist the wires of the new plug onto the house wires, matching the colors, and twist on the twist locks. Make sure they're tight and plug in the new smoke detector. Turn the power back on.

They suck. I think the builder used the cheapest ones he could find. Periodically, one will start doing the "battery low" chirp, and it will never stop. Even if we pull the battery out completely. Seriously, it's like they're haunted or something. We have to put them in the garage where we can't hear them.

We had the same issue with ours after a few years. Unplug them, pull the battery, and they would still chirp for days. I wound up replacing all of them.

 

[Scutter01]

My absolute favorite is the "1/16th second chirp every three minutes" to let you know that one of them has a low battery. WTF? I don't want to spend 40 minutes tracking down the location at 3am. You can't chirp more than once every three minutes?! Maybe show an orange light or something so that I can visually inspect each one instead of waiting for it to chirp?

 

[thegunshow]

You shouldn't have to rewire...most SD have 3 wires, hot, neutral and a set of form C contacts, so if one goes off, they all go off. typically they pull 12/3, so the red is on the contacts.

 

[thegunshow]

My absolute favorite is the "1/16th second chirp every three minutes" to let you know that one of them has a low battery. WTF? I don't want to spend 40 minutes tracking down the location at 3am. You can't chirp more than once every three minutes?! Maybe show an orange light or something so that I can visually inspect each one instead of waiting for it to chirp?

This reminds me of a great simpsons episode....

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2WmZDP3kIY"]www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2WmZDP3kIY[/ame]

Go to 28 seconds in...

 

[spasmo]

Yay! Scutter put in the new smoke alarms. He did have to do a little rewiring but it was as simple as everyone was saying.